Four more pull papers for Palo Alto City Council

As of 5 p.m. Friday, that many people had pulled nomination papers to run for Palo Alto City Council this fall.

Lydia Kou, a real estate agent with ties to Palo Altans for Sensible Zoning, and Richard Wendorf, a downtown resident, both paid a visit to the City Clerk's office on Tuesday to obtain the forms.

They were followed on Wednesday by Mark Weiss, a concert promoter, and Victor Frost, who made a name for himself fighting the city's sit-lie ban in court. Both men have run for office in the past.

Last week, City Council incumbents Karen Holman, Greg Scharff and Nancy Shepherd all pulled papers.

Others who have obtained the forms are former Gunn High School teacher John Karl Friedrich, retired Boeing engineer Seelam Reddy, Maybell project opponent Tom DuBois and land-use critic Eric Filseth.

Five seats are up for grabs on Nov. 4. At a minimum, two will be occupied by newcomers, with Councilwoman Gail Price opting not to run again and Councilman Larry Klein termed out.

The nomination period opened on July 14 and will close on Aug. 8 if all eligible incumbents decide to run again. Otherwise, the deadline to file the papers will be extended to Aug. 13 for non-incumbents.

Nomination papers must be signed by 25 registered voters, according to the city's election guide. The cost to file is $25, but the fee is waived if a candidate collects 100 signatures.

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City Clerk Donna Grider said none of the 11 would-be council members had filed their papers as of Friday evening.